ABSTRACT
A path to successful playwriting proceeds from the hearing, through telling, to acting out, to writing down. Thus, a chain of student involvement through several modalities provides the enabling structure necessary to make playwriting successful for students. Using a fairy tale, a fable such as Aesop’s, a scene, or a familiar short story, the teacher reads or tells the piece aloud, dramatically. The students then tell the story to each other in pairs and act it out. The individual students then write the story down in dialogue. The writing down can be from a student’s notes, or taped recording of the acting out link of the chain, or from memory. The students can then memorize lines from the plays and act them out according to the scripts. Polishing of the scripts follows. If all students are to experience success as playwrights, this “chain” is a necessary ingredient.
